Apparatus for exercising the fingers in the movements required for playing musical instruments



May 28, 1940. G. HESSE 2,202,202 APPARATUS FOR EXERCISING THE FINGERS IN THE MOVEM ENTS REQUIRED FOR PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Dec. 28, 1938 I I a 'W Emu- .'n w l I i m 77 INVENTOR Z2 GUILLIAUME HEssE ATTYS,

Patented May 28, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR EXERCISING THE FIN- GERS IN THE MOVEMENTS REQUIRED FOR PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Guillaume Hesse, Huizen, Netherlands 7 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for exercising the fingers in the movements required for playing musical instruments such as a piano, violin, Violoncello, guitar and the like.

An apparatus of this kind is known consisting of an arm or bar to which a number of spring pressed levers are hinged in such a manner that the extremities of the levers form keys arranged adjacent each other, each key requiring a certain force to press it down.

This apparatus does not allow of a variation of the tension of the keys nor of the stroke of the fingers while exercising but is only a primitive 18 apparatus which offers but very few possibilities of exercise.

On the contrary, the apparatus according to the present invention ofiers many possibilities of exercise although it is based on the known principle "E of pressing down a lever against an opposing force or tension.

According to the present invention the apparatus consists of an arm and a lever hinged together so that they can be pressed together 25 against the force exerted by a spring in such a manner that the pressure of the fingers placed at difierent distances from the hinge point exert different forces on the spring member,

A further feature according to the invention 30 consists in that the angle between the arm and the lever is adjustable.

A still further feature consists in that the force exerted by the spring can also be adjusted.

In order to determine the position of the fingers 35 for a particular exercise adjustable saddles provided'with projecting flanges are arranged on the lever.

It will be seen that with the aid of this apparatus many diflerent kinds of exercises can 40 be performed. In order to provide a rest for one or more fingers while exercising an adjustable bar may be arranged on either side of the lever. On this bar can be placed the fingers which are to be rested during the exercise.

In order to ascertain a correct position of the hand during the exercise a small accessory apparatus is provided which is intended to be placed between the knuckles of the thumbs and the forefinger. This apparatus consists of a stem of adjustable length, the extremities of the stem each carrying a saddle in suitable form for supporting the said knuckles.

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing which illustrates by way of example (Cl. S L-465) a construction according to the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the apparatus without the rest bar, the handle being shown in section,

Fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus, 5

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the complete apparatus,

Fig. 4 is a side view of the accessory apparatus for adjusting the position of the hand while exercising, and

Fig. 5 is a side view of Fig. 4. 10

The arm I which forms the abutment for the thumb is rigidly connected to the handle 2 and near to the end of the arm a lever 3 is hinged by means of the pivot 4 to a small bracket 5 the latter being rigidly connected to the arm I. A disc is hinged to the lever 3 by means of the pivot 1. In the hollow handle 2 is arranged a spring 8 which abuts with one end against the disc 6 and with the other end against a cover 9 screwed onto the handle 2. Said spring tends to press the lever 3 upwards, i. e. to increase the angle of the lever with regard to the arm I. In order to allow of a smooth movement of the cover with regard to the spring, a disc I0 is interposed between the spring and a pin l l with conical head i2, the latter extending through a central opening provided in the disc l0, whilst the pin ll rests against the bottom of the cover. The end of the arm I carries an adjusting screw l3 the bolt of which rests against the free end of the lever 3. 80

By adjusting the screw l3 the angle between the arm I and the lever 3 can be varied, so that the stroke of the fingers when actuating the lever is also varied and that by screwing the cover further onto the handle, the spring will be compressed and will exert a stronger pressure on the lever 3 so that it will require more force to press the lever down. The lever which is guided in a slot formed in the part of the handle extending above the arm I is provided with a number of saddles [4 having extending flanges i5. These saddles serve the purpose of determining the position of the fingers on the lever according to the particular exercise required. The saddles are so arranged on the lever 3 that their position can be adjusted by allowing a rim provided on each saddle to engage with one of the indentures I6 on the upper side of the lever.

In order to provide a rest for one or more fingers while exercising with the other finger or fingers a bar I! is provided which is adjustable and may be arranged on either side of the lever 3. The said bar is connected to the apparatus by means of its forked end [8 which is adapted to engage with a reduced part I9 of the lengthened pivot 4 (Fig. 3) whilst an extension 20 provided with a slot 2! engages the bolt of a screw 22, so that the bar H can be adjusted in relation to the position of the lever 3, by adjusting the slot on the bolt and tightening the screw 22. The bar H is also provided with cavities 23 in Which the fingers which are not being exercised can be placed.

In order to obtain a correct position of the hand when exercising with the apparatus the adjustable aparatus shown in Figs. 4 and 5 can be applied. This accessory apparatus consists of a stem 24 adjustable in length. The extremities of this stem each carry a saddle 25 formed to fit the parts of the hand about the knuckles of the forefinger and the thumb.

What I claim is:

1. An improved apparatus for exercising the fingers in the movements required for playing musical instruments, comprising a single arm, a single lever hinged to said arm and adapted to be moved by the fingers, and adjustable elastic means for controlling the resistance of the lever to movement by the fingers.

2. An improved apparatus for exercising the fingers in the movements required for playing musical instruments, comprising a single arm, a single lever hinged to said arm and adapted to be moved by the fingers, adjustable elastic means for controlling the resistance of the lever to movement by the fingers, and means for adjusting the angle between the arm. and the lever.

B. An improved apparatus for exercising the fingers in. the movements required for playing musical instruments, comprising a single arm, a single lever hinged to said arm and adapted to be moved by the fingers, finger saddles adjustably mounted for movement along said lever, and adjustable elastic means for controlling the resistance of the lever to movement by the fingers.

4:. An improved apparatus for exercising the fingers in the movements required for playing musical instruments, comprising a single arm, a

single lever hinged to said arm and adapted to be moved by the fingers, adjustable elastic means for controlling the resistance of the lever to movement by the fingers, and a rest bar adjustably mounted on said arm and positioned beside the lever.

5. An improved apparatus for exercising the fingers in the movements required for playing musical instruments, comprising a single arm, a single lever hinged to said arm and adapted to be moved by the fingers, adjustable elastic means for controlling the resistance of the lever to movement by the fingers, and a rest bar adjustably mounted on said arm and positioned beside the lever, said rest bar being provided with cavities for indicating the position for the fingers.

6. An improved apparatus for exercising the fingers in the movements required for playing musical instruments, comprising a single arm, a single lever hinged to said arm and adapted to be moved by the fingers, adjustable elastic means for controlling the resistance of the lever to movement by the fingers, said lever having a plurality of notches formed therein, a plurality of finger saddles slidably mounted on said lever, and means adapted to engage in said notches for holding the saddles in adjusted positions.

7. An improved apparatus for exercising the fingers in the movements required for playing musical instruments, comprising a single arm, a single lever hinged to said arm and adapted to be moved by the fingers, adjustable elastic means for controlling the resistance of the lever to movement by the fingers, said hinge having a pintle projecting from each side thereof, a clamping device on each side of said arm, and a rest bar having a notch at one end engageable with one of the pintle projections and means engageable With one of said clamping devices for adjustably mounting said rest on either side of the arm adjacent said arm.

GUILLAUME HESSE. 

